We thought it would be fun to create a quiz to ask what you know about the female egg (ovum). Try to answer the following 11 questions. Don’t get attached to what you may not know because I venture a guess that many others didn’t know either. Quizzing yourself will hopefully help you know your anatomy more intimately and understand the importance of supporting ovarian and egg health naturally with fertility superfoods, nutritional supplements and natural therapies prior to conception. It is in your power to do so and fairly easy too! What do you know about your eggs?
1. Unlike the sperm cell, among the smallest of cells in the male body, the egg is among the largest of cells in the female body and is actually visible to the naked eye.
2. Oocytes are immature cells formed within a female’s ovaries when she’s a fetus in her mother’s womb.
3. The mature egg released at ovulation is called what?
4. The _____ releases the ovum at ovulation where it is capable of being fertilized by sperm in the _____ _____.
5. Egg count starts decreasing as soon as they’re created , while a female is a fetus still in the womb?
6. What is the #1 predictor of egg health that members of the scientific community rely upon?
7. Is a woman born with all the eggs she will ovulate throughout her reproductive lifetime?
8. The female body protects an oocyte from the effects of free radicals, fertility anti-nutrients, heat, stress and lack of nutrition that can contribute to poor egg quality, a couple’s inability to conceive, poor implantation or development of an embryo, miscarriage or birth abnormalities/defects.
9. An egg cell or ovum is the female sex cell, a gamete, each of which is genetically unique and contains half the unique copy of genes a mother will share with her child.
10. The key time frame to work to improve egg health starts ___ days before ovulation?
You did it! Now compare your choices to the answers below!
Answers:
1. True
2. True
3. b or d
4. b or d
The fluid-filled follicle nurtures the maturing ovum before it grows enough so it protrudes slightly from the ovary and bursts releasing the egg. This is ovulation.
5. True
6. c
A female fetus’ ovaries are home to roughly 7 million eggs while she is still in her mother’s womb. She will be born with around 1 million eggs. By the time she reaches menstruation, a female’s follicle count — the sac of cells surrounding each egg within the ovary that nurtures an egg that will be ovulated to maturity — is roughly 200,000. Of that 200,000 only less than 500 will be ovulated in a healthy, average woman’s lifetime. And as you know only a small, very small, number of those will be fertilized.
7. Yes
A woman’s eggs age naturally, just as the rest of her body does.
8. False (I was being a little tricky.)
The human body is designed to and tries hard to protect eggs, but often can’t because it gets overwhelmed by the toxins of our modern diet/lifestyle/stress levels/environment.
9. True
And now two unique copies of genes a mother gives her children are exactly the same (well unless she has identical twins). This is why you are distinctly different from your siblings.
10. c
During this time the eggs are changing rapidly, growing quickly, and are most susceptible to your lifestyle and the nutrients from your diet.
Moving forward…
By now, I can imagine you are wondering what you can do to support egg health or boost egg health if you have been told your egg health or egg quality is low. There are many things!
Start here: How to Increase Your Egg Health in 90 Days
(where you’ll also have a chance to sign up for and download our Free Egg Health Checklist!)
Elizabeth Willett is the Senior Herbalist and Lead Educator at NaturalFertilityInfo.com. She holds a BS in Mass Communications (2000) from Minnesota State University, and a Master of Arts degree (MA, 2010) in Holistic Health Studies with a specialization is herbalism from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. Liz has written over 200 articles on women’s fertility and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise in holistic health and healing to Natural Fertility Info.com
